Hugh Ferriss architectural drawings and papers, circa 1906-1980

Paper inventory is available in the Dept. of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library.

Summary

This collection includes Ferriss' architectural renderings of buildings by various architects, circa 1918-1960, including variant designs for the United Nations buildings; the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C.; Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; Rockefeller Center in New York; La Guardia Airport in New York; National Airport in Washington, D.C.; the New York Times Building in New York; the 1939-1940 and 1964-1965 World's Fairs in New York; the Chicago Tribune Tower; Hoover Dam; and three Frank Lloyd Wright projects including Fallingwater in Bear Run, Pa., Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Arizona, and the Johnson Wax Administration Building in Racine, Wisconsin. Also included are Ferriss' renderings of imaginary buildings, circa 1920s-1930s, some of which were published in THE METROPOLIS OF TOMORROW (published 1929) and POWER IN BUILDINGS (published 1953). Also included are Ferriss' drawings, 1941, of important buildings in the United States, done as a result of a nation-wide tour sponsored by a Brunner grant from the Architectural League of New York; and related correspondence. The collection also contains a small grouping of correspondence with architects and others; talks, including radio talks, and speeches on architecture; photographs of drawings; clippings; a job book, 1922-1961, listing jobs Ferriss undertook; a scrapbook, 1910s-1930s, containing clippings of articles about Ferriss and his work, including reviews of his books; and programs, reviews, catalogs, and correspondence, circa 1920s-1980, relating to exhibits of his work. Also, some personal material including high school yearbook, 1906; undated student work done at Washington University in Saint Louis, Mo., which he attended 1906-1911; and correspondence, diplomas, and photographs. Of note is the text of a radio dialogue with Frank Lloyd Wright.

Biographical / Historical Note

Architectural renderer. Ferriss (1889-1962) was born in St. Louis, Mo. and practiced in New York City.

Restrictions

This collection is available for use by qualified readers by appointment in the Department of Drawings & Archives, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University. For further information and to make an appointment, please call (212) 854-4110 or email avery-drawings@libraries.columbia.edu.